Policy News

Many important nearshore fisheries in northern California rely on healthy kelp forests, either as a food source or important habitat. These fisheries are threatened because of a dramatic decline of the state’s kelp forests north of San Francisco. Aerial surveys of the kelp in 2008 and 2014 by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), revealed a 93% decline of canopy

Permanent and alarming changes to ocean chemistry along the West Coast require immediate, decisive action, warns the 20-member West Coast Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Science Panel in a report unveiled Monday.

A draft of “The California Collaborative Approach: Marine Protected Areas Partnership Plan” is now open for public and tribal comment, ending July 18, 2014 and July 25, 2014, respectively. The Partnership Plan is an overarching guidance document that promotes a partnership-based model for managing California’s network of MPAs.

The California Ocean Science Trust, in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, invites members of the Central Coast ocean community to provide input on the Draft Central Coast MPA Monitoring Plan. Link to draft plan. Comments must be received by 5:00 pm PDT on June 4, 2014.